Life Time Trusts and the Surrogate's Court: Revocable Trusts; Decanting and Ethics

There are many potential avenues available in estate planning, some more advantageous than others. Revocable trusts is one that is often promoted, but that doesn’t mean it is optimal choice for estate planning. This CLE course will evaluate revocable trusts in terms of their costs, process, eligibility requirements, jurisdictional issues as well as their potential advantages to your client.

Instructor Bio

Lainie Fastman

Originally from The Netherlands, Lainie R. Fastman has been practicing law since 1981, with a focus on estate planning, will drafting, post-mortem tax planning, guardianship proceedings, elder law, probate contests, estate litigation, and the administration of wills and trusts. Ms. Fastman first joined Hall & Hall in 1986 as an associate and was made partner in 2003. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Fastman was a solo law practitioner in Staten Island and a court attorney for the Hon. Frederic S. Berman in the New York County Supreme Court.

She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts Courts of New York. She is a member of the Surrogate’s Court and Elder Law Committees of the Richmond County Bar Association and a member of the Trusts and Estates Section and Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Fastman has authored numerous articles on trusts, estate law, probate, contested matters in the Surrogate’s Court, elder law and related issues for the New York Law Journal, CPA Journal, Richmond County Bar Association Journal, and the Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, as well as the Elder Law Journal of the New York State Bar Association. She conducts Continuing Legal Education (CLE)-approved lectures on estate tax, elder law, wills, asset protection, trust, Medicaid Planning and related issues for the Richmond County Bar Association, the Staten Island Women’s Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. She has lectured before civic associations on Staten Island; St. John’s University Staten Island Campus, and the Staten Island YMCA.

Ms. Fastman earned her Juris Doctor law degree, cum laude, from New York Law School, where she was given the Professor Vincent LoLordo Award for Excellence in Administration of Criminal Justice. She received her Bachelor’s degree from CUNY Richmond College, graduating with highest honors and a 4.0 grade point average.

She is fluent in Dutch and also has a working knowledge of German and Spanish. She was honored by the Richmond County Bar Association on March 10, 2017.

Charles Scott

Charles T. Scott joined the firm in 2010 after serving as Chief Clerk and Court Attorney Referee with the Westchester County Surrogate's Court. During his 28 years with the court, Mr. Scott handled complex estate litigations, supervised disclosure, presided over non-jury hearings related to kinship and accountings and mediated settlement agreements in litigations covering the spectrum of Surrogate's Court proceedings.

Mr. Scott presently serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section, and is a member of the Surrogate's Court Advisory Committee to the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of the State of New York, where he is instrumental in formulating trusts and estates law and procedure in New York State. Mr. Scott is recognized as an authority in the area of fiduciary accounting and Surrogate's Court practice and procedure. He is also a frequent panelist and lecturer delivering numerous programs each year on topics related to estate practice and estate litigation to a variety of organizations, including the New York State Judicial Institute, the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Surrogate's Association, county and local bar associations and other government, business, professional and civic organizations.

Mr. Scott's practice focuses on estate and trust litigation with a particular emphasis on fiduciary accounting and complex issues related to the administration of trusts and estates.

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